Aska's Bind
by sw4n-l4ke
Summary: Sakura was on her way back to Konoha from an important mission to Suna, doing a check-up on the Kazekage's illness after Shukaku's extraction. Everything was going smoothly until she stepped on a "stone" in the desert & her life as she knew was gone GxS
1. Chapter 1

This is just another idea I have for GaaSaku coupling. Story is set before the FRS training and after Sasuke / team 7 meeting in Shippuuden. Anything after that meeting is completely my imagination and no longer follows the original storyline. Hope ya like it!

**Aska's Bind **

_Sakura was on her way back to Konoha from an important mission to Suna, doing a check-up on the Kazekage's illness after Shukaku's extraction. Everything was going smoothly and fine until she stepped on a "stone" in the desert and...her life as she knew, was gone. [GaaSaku] _

Chapter 1

Sakura stepped into the open desert as she waved good bye to Temari, Kankurou and the two shinobis guarding the entrance to Sunagakure. Her mission here was complete.

Gaara, the young Kazekage of Sunagakure was now in the state of equilibrium and was getting much better after some long and tiring medical chakra stabilization sessions with Sakura for three days. For his sake, she had stayed longer in Suna than what was originally planned, followed with two days of rest and getting her chakra level back to normal. And today was the day to return to Konoha.

She kept walking until she could no longer see the village's entrance. The air was hot and dry, and she knew she needed to hurry if she didn't want to get caught in the sandstorm that would pass the area in the next few hours.

Wind and sand particles flew pass her as she ran. But she didn't slow down and kept a fast pace. Hoping at any stones and tree trunks she could find to help her jump farther, and travel faster.

Her mind though as she ran, was filled with the time she spent with Gaara. Gaara was an ex-jinchuuriki and one would think after losing his bijuu, he would have peace of mind and body. But wrong. A month after his resurrection and being back to the village, things started to go wrong in his body. His skin started peeling and cracking, turning into grains of sand as it drop off his body. The pain —as could be seen in his face— must had been horrible, but there was no blood or injuries that she could find. That was one problem, then there were the nightmares that kept him awake, even when he _wanted_ to sleep, now that he thought he could. Nobody knew what those signs were. Afterall, a jinchuuriki wasn't supposed to be alive after bijuu extraction. Gaara was the first and the only one who got resurrected. So, nobody knew how the extraction would effect his body.

It was her first time to see the almighty Gaara of the Desert in such a tormented state. It was a pitiful sight. But thankfully, Sakura came to the rescue. There were chakra explosions in most parts of his nerves, the worst being at the center of his chakra source. How and why? She didn't know, and that was what she needed to report to her Sensei once she returned to Konoha.

When she treated him, the moment was —for her— something she couldn't forget.

"…his face…his eyes were so— agh!" Her thought was interrupted as something stung her left foot.

She felt like for a second there, electricity crept into her left leg. Still jumping mid-air, she looked behind her to see what she stepped on. It was a large human-sized boulder. Nothing seemed wrong with the boulder. She shrugged, but as she turned to look in front of her, all that was around her rippled and became blurry…

"What the—"

…and darker…

_Could it be genjutsu?!_ She thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes scanning her surrounding and quickly formed the hand seals to break the spell. But to her realization, it wasn't a genjutsu, but something else. That was when she cautiously drew her kunai out of its holster as her other hand started to gather chakra, ready to punch the light out of anyone who was foolish enough to attack her.

Her surrounding was getting darker and there was no chakra presence except hers as she landed on a small sand dune. Biting her lips, she grabbed her kunai tighter.

"Is someone there?!" Sensing nothing when something was definitely wrong, she couldn't help but started to panic. The darkness was starting to get to her, and the desert started to look way creepier than it really was.

"Hey…answer me…!" She wanted to sound angry, but she definitely couldn't hide her fear as she heard her own voice trembled slightly.

Everything was now pitch black. All Sakura could hear was her own gasp as she held her breath in shock and fear. It was eerily silent...a cracking sound followed…and…

"What is— …aahh!!"

[_Flashback_]

"Good night, Tsunade-shisou!"

Sakura bowed her head towards her sensei and turned around, walking out of the Hokage room, out the hall, out the building, and into the main street of Konoha.

Activities in the village had died down and only one or two people could be seen still roaming the street. She looked up at the clear night sky. It was full-moon right now in Konoha and she could see the pale bluish perfect round object hanging on the sky, shining down onto the street, giving a somewhat eerie yet romantic atmosphere in the village.

It was late, very late, and the only thing in Sakura's mind was to return to her apartment as quick as her legs could carry her and get some much needed rest. She was exhausted after her lengthy report session with the Hokage. Not to mention, she had just returned to Konoha from her latest mission, the mission that had brought her and her team face to face with Sasuke...again.

However, it was apparent from their faces that needless to say, they failed the mission, failed to bring their once-comrade home, and having Sasuke slipped out of their grasps again after 2 years, was in one word, disheartening. Naruto had been depressed the whole day, cursing his own powerless self but Sakura knew too well the blonde wouldn't remain in that state for long. What had happened would only fuel his motivation, because Naruto is Naruto, he simply never gave up...but then again, so did Sakura herself.

"We WILL find you Sasuke-kun, just watch..." The look in Sakura's eyes sharpened and pierced into the gloomy atmosphere of the street ahead. She fastened her pace, finally opted to jump from roof to roof. She slowed down once she was close to the Haruno's residence. Not bothering to use the door, she casually jumped down and slipped into her room with ease from the window opening.

As soon as she was inside her room, sleep was the only thing in her mind at the moment, and sleep she did. Not even bothering to change her clothes or wash, she was in la-la land the moment her head hit the pillow.

Morning came…

Birds chirping happily outside the window, the faint sunlight peering through the curtain, wind blew slowly bringing the fresh and cool morning air into the room, the soft sounds of village activities could be heard outside. Everything was peaceful until—

"Yooo, Sakura-chaaan!" followed by loud banging on the front door. "Tsunade-baa-chan has new missions for us. She said it's important! I'm going ahead and wait for you there…and oh yea! I brought breakfast for you! My treat! Cup ramen spicy beef flavor! Yum! I'll put it here ok! I got to run now, see you Sakura-chann!"

The blonde loud-mouth was gone the moment Sakura woke up abruptly. Rubbing and massaging her forehead, her eyes narrowing as she muttered "That baka…" A smile formed on her lips. Naruto was his cheerful self again only in one night, and she thought she too, needed to be just like that. Stop thinking about their unsuccessful mission, stop thinking about Sasuke, for now.

It was another day and another mission again, as always. She grumbled and pushed herself up to sitting position on the bed.

"Wonder what the important mission is. I better hurry." She nodded to herself and flew to the bathroom. Not even 10 minutes had passed and she was already dressed, complete with her kunai pouch and head protector secured around her thigh and pink hair respectively. After a quick glance at herself in the mirror and a nod of approval, she quickly made her way down and to the front door. Not forgetting to grab the ready made cup ramen and finished it before leaving.

In the Hokage office, twenty minutes later…

"But…Tsunade-baachan…" Naruto whined.

"No buts, Naruto. You're not going with Sakura. Period." Tsunade didn't even look at Naruto as she finished scribbling on a medical scroll that Sakura would take with her to Suna.

"Yes, Naruto. You've got better things to do…like…" Sakura finally opened her mouth to stop the blonde's whining.

"Like what? I need to see how Gaara's doing and Sakura-chan, what if you're attacked? What if you got into problems? If you go alone, no one would be there to help! I can—"

"Naruto! Who do you think _I_ am?" Sakura now glaring, shutting up Naruto immediately. "I _can_ take care of myself _and_ Gaara. You need to—"

"Train." Kakashi suddenly showed up in a puff of smoke, still reading his favorite Icha Icha Paradise book. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Both Naruto and Sakura said in unison. The Hokage stood up slowly before putting a final stamp on the scroll, "Yeah, Naruto. Just like Kakashi said. You need to train." Tsunade said sternly.

"But…" Naruto was about to protest again but Tsunade shut him up.

"Do you know how far you've fallen behind Sasuke, Naruto?"

_O-o… _Hearing what Tsunade said, Sakura and Kakashi both exchanged a quick glance. "_The taboo word. That's got to hurt."_ Kakashi thought inwardly.

There was silence for a while as everyone stared at Naruto who now stood still, his eyes wide opened as he stared at the floor, his body trembling a little, and his fists hardened.

"…gomen, I can't go with you to Suna, Sakura-chan." Naruto said quietly. Finally turned to Sakura, forcing a smile.

"I think Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-baachan are right. I'll prove to Sasuke I'm also special, in my own special way!" He smiled again, this time not the forced smile, but a smile of confidence.

Sakura nodded and smiled back. "Good. That's how we all want it Naruto." Tsunade also nodded in satisfaction as her little trick just worked wonderfully. "Kakashi, Naruto will be under your care from now on. I've also discharged Yamato from his missions to help with the training."

"Hai."

"Ok. You may leave now." Tsunade waved her hand lazily.

Kakashi nodded and then motioned with his hand for Naruto to follow him "Naruto, come. Oh, and Sakura…"

"What sensei?"

Kakashi paused and looked at Sakura for a moment and then nodded to his pink-haired student, "You're on your own this time. Do your best."

"Of course. Sensei!" Sakura held her fist in front of her chest for assurance.

"And take this." Kakashi grabbed something from inside his pocket and tossed it to Sakura. She caught it quickly.

"Sensei, this…"

"It's a special made kunai, very strong. It can even smash through metal. Should come in handy when you're out of chakra." Kakashi explained.

"Arigato, sensei…" Sakura thanked her sensei and gave him the sweetest smile she could managed.

"Hmm, very thoughtful of you, Kakashi." Tsunade suddenly said mockingly.

"Ah? Oh! She's my student after all, Hokage-sama. Now I think I should run, meet me at the training ground, Naruto!" Kakashi then formed a hand seal and disappeared into smoke.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto turned to Sakura, his expression serious. "Gaara is suffering badly, but…I know you can help him, because Sakura-chan is Baa-chan's best student, right?"

"Naruto…"

"Say hi to Gaara from me ok?" The blonde did the nice guy pose and smiled widely, "When you're back, I'll show you my new awesome jutsu! Believe it!" And then he too disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Sakura and Tsunade stared at each other, now that there were only two of them left in the room.

"Well…" Tsunade coughed, clearing her throat. "Now for your mission, take this scroll with you. I've written in there some of the most useful techniques for dealing with one's chaotic chakra concentration that I highly suspect is the culprit. Study it on your way to Suna, and remember…you're only there to treat the Kazekage's illness. This is an A rank mission I can assign only to you, so don't do anything that might lead to problems because there'll be no replacement if anything bad happened to you." The Hokage paused and smiled wickedly, "Not that I'm going to let that happens to my apprentice."

"Thanks, Tsunade-shishou. I'll remember that." Sakura chuckled softly and smiled as she bowed and took the scroll from her Master.

"You have 2 hours to pack your stuffs and leave as soon as possible. If my suspicion was true, then at this rate, the Kazekage has only one week to survive, we're running out of time. I'm counting on you, Sakura."

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi. First off, thanks for the reviews. Especially lotty who pointed out my fatal mistake (I was so ignorant, I actually had to ask someone who speaks English to tell why that wasn't a proper sentence, heh!). So thanks again, that was helpful. Here's chapter 2. Hope y'all like it and Happy New Year!_

_PS. I don't own Naruto or Gaara or Sakura, only the plot for this fic._

Chapter 2

"Uuhhh…"

Sakura groaned. Her entire body was numb and for a moment, her mind was a blank as she couldn't remember what had happened to her. Her head was dizzy and heavy. Her mouth was dry. She opened her eyes slowly and rubbed her head with one hand to ease the discomfort as she pushed herself up a little with the other hand.

"Where am…I…?"

She groaned again and looked around her. Everything was vague as her eyes were still adjusting to her new surrounding, but she could tell it was no longer as dark as before, but still dark nonetheless.

"That…was quite a long fall…" Sakura muttered to herself while still rubbing her temple, her eyes closed. She was gradually coming to her senses and wondering why she was still in one piece as not even a cat could survive that fall.

Feeling better, she moved to sitting position as she looked above her and her surrounding again, creasing her eyebrows in confusion as all she saw were…ceiling, and walls, and…some round windows on the left. The outside was dark which means it was already nightfall.

_Someone had somehow kidnapped her! _was the first thought that crossed her mind. _But the room kind of looked familiar… _was her next thought. She was about to check her belongings when something underneath her moved slightly and there was soft breathing sound that she had failed to notice before.

She quickly stopped all her movement, held her breath and looked down to see…

"What?!" Sakura hissed quietly in disbelief.

Lying underneath her was none other than Gaara, who was _still_ sleeping…like the dead.

Sakura looked at him for a while, her eyes wide opened in bewilderment. She shook her head slowly, trying to gather her thought, replaying the past events. How on earth did all of these happen? First, she was on her way home. Something happened in the desert. She was swallowed by darkness and fell into a pit…a huge one that not even her ninja skills could save her from falling. And then…everything stopped, the rushing sound of the sand around her, the humming sound from the hole…and her fall. She was damn sure she didn't pass out during the fall and she could remember everything that had happened vividly. Then how the hell she wasn't hurt during the process? And how the hell did she end up here —now that she thought about it— in the Kazekage's bedroom? Did someone shunshin her here? But that was impossible…

_Maybe I should ask him… _Sakura thought inwardly as she looked at Gaara's sleeping figure.

One second…

Five seconds…

Ten seconds…

And she was _still _staring.

Something drew her in as she watched his expression, somehow it made her forgot the situation she was in and she ended up staring at him longer than she should. It didn't help that the closeness of his body felt so warm and comforting…even through the clothes.

_**I've said it before but I'll say it again, he is so…gorgeous…**_

She heard her inner self talked oh-so-suddenly and blushed slightly at the _unexpected_ thought as images of her healing him came back and flashed into her mind. She looked away from him for a moment to erase the stupid thought, before she continued to stare at him again.

_He looked so peaceful…I shouldn't—_

And the door opened. This made Sakura jumped slightly in surprise.

"Here, let me…" A woman talked behind her.

"Oh shit…" Sakura stiffened immediately as the light was turned on. Caught off guard, she dared not to look at the source of the voice as she swallowed hard and stayed still in her spot.

Silence followed for a moment before the woman said again…now in surprised tone.

"Sakura?!"

Sakura slowly turned her head to look behind her at the familiar voice.

Temari was standing in the doorway, carrying a tray with medicines that she almost dropped earlier at the sight of someone sitting _on _her little brother, in the middle of the night no less.

Sakura could only stared at her from over her shoulder, too surprised to reply.

"T-Temari…?" Sakura swallowed hard, finally able to say something.

Temari didn't reply right away, instead she took a few steps into the room and looked around before fixing her eyes on Sakura and her little brother, creasing her eyebrows at the sight. The nurse behind her watched unblinkingly.

"What are you doing here…? I thought you already—"

"What's wrong Temari? Did Gaara have a nightmare again?" A sleepy male voice was heard behind her.

"Kankurou-dono…" The nurse nodded slightly and stepped back to make way to the said male who walked lazily into the room…only to freeze in his spot, gaping.

No one talked until Kankurou broke the silence, "Sakura?! What happened? Why are you here?"

Realizing that she had been silent for too long, Sakura swallowed again before she opened her mouth to explain. "…It's…it's a long story, I don't know what happened myself." She pled.

Kankurou was quickly getting over the shock, his lips now forming a smirk as he chuckled slightly. "Do you miss Gaara so much that you have to do _that_?" He asked mockingly, pointing at both Sakura and Gaara.

Sakura stared questioningly at Kankurou for a second, wondering what he meant before gasping at the realization of her position at the moment. She was actually sitting on Gaara's lap, straddling him, at night, in _his bedroom_.

_Oh, kami…what have I done?!_ She thought inwardly as she quickly pushed herself up with amazing reflex to get off Gaara and the bed.

"Look! It's…it's really not what you think!" Sakura said nervously, her words were rushed and her cheeks were red.

Kankurou chuckled again, and this time Temari joined him.

"Relax, Sakura. We don't bite. Look at you, you're tense." Temari said then, trying to calm her down.

"I know…I'm just…confused. I'm sorry, I know it's late, but…"

"Sakura, I think it's better if we talk outside? We don't want to disturb Gaara…" Temari said again.

"Disturb him? If I hadn't known better, I would think he's dead or something." Kankurou said, staring at Gaara, his expression a mix between puzzlement and amusement.

Temari threw him a glare and motioned for Sakura to follow her out of the room.

"Put this on the dresser and rub this on his chest. I'll be back quickly." Temari instructed the nurse and gave the tray to her as she stepped out of the room.

Sakura didn't say anything as she followed Temari quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor all the while.

A few minutes later, Sakura, Temari and Kankurou were all sitting in the living room, with Sakura facing Temari and Kankurou. Taking a deep breath, she told them what happened and all that she could remember, in details. Judging by their reactions, Sakura could tell, her story was hard to believe, as she almost couldn't believe it herself.

Kankurou made a face and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "First off, did you just _fell_ on top of him? Damn it Gaara, that lucky bastard…"

"Don't start again. It's not like that." Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you said. But it's amazing he didn't wake up even when you landed on top of him." Kankurou said again, pondering.

"Well, I didn't actually _fall _on top of him, somehow I just _stopped_. If I had fallen, don't you think I would have a few broken limbs by now? And I can assure you, my fall would have done more than waking him up. Most likely, with him sleeping and no sand protection, it would have hurt us both."

"That's strange… But still, Gaara hadn't slept like this at all before you came Sakura. Your healing really works." Temari said with a grateful smile.

"Thanks…" Sakura muttered and smiled back.

"It actually works too well, if I have to say." Kankurou said, shaking his head slightly, immediately earning a glare from Temari which he shrugged off with a mocking grin. "C'mon, even though it's Gaara we're talking about, that was so unnatural, it freaked me out."

"Well…I'm curious about that mysterious 'boulder' you were talking about…can you tell us the approximate location? I've never heard or known about such thing before." Temari asked, ignoring Kankurou and turned to face Sakura.

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it's around 2 miles from the border of Suna, to the north east." Sakura said.

"Two miles to the north east, huh?" Temari said, knocking her fingers lightly on the table. "Well, Kankurou, what do you say? We have no mission tomorrow, I think we should go and check it out." Temari said again.

"Count me in." Kankurou said lazily.

"I'll go too." Sakura said quickly.

"But Sakura, aren't you going back to Konoha tomorrow?" Temari asked. "Oh, now that I think about it, you'll stay here for tonight. I'll ask the maid to prepare the room for you. You guys wait here, I'll be right back." Temari continued.

"Temari…thanks, but I'm going with you guys tomorrow. I'll need to take that route again anyway, it's the fastest route to Konoha, remember?" Sakura said, stopping Temari.

"That settled it then huh, neesan?" Kankurou said, glancing at both Temari and Sakura.

"Hnh! You're right. Then you're going with us tomorrow, Sakura." Temari said with a smirk. Sakura just smirked back, but said nothing.

---

Sakura dropped her backpack on the floor and sat on the bed that had been prepared for her.

_Here I am again._ She took a deep breath. The room was cold, as it always was in Suna at night. The cold reminded her of how warm it was to be on top of—

_Sakura! What on earth are you thinking?! _She cursed inwardly and patted her own cheeks to get rid of the thought. Frustrated, she shook her head and lay down on the bed for a moment before she heard someone knocking on the door.

"Sakura? It's me, are you hungry? I brought you something." Temari said behind the door.

"Temari?" Sakura replied to the familiar voice as she made her way to the door and opened it.

There, Temari stood with a wide grin on her face. Her hands were full, carrying a tray with warm soup, bread and milk on top of it.

"Aw, you don't have to do this…" Sakura said, but at the same time her stomach decided to grumble and voice its own thought.

"Yeah right." Temari laughed slightly as she passed Sakura the tray.

"I'm sorry." Sakura blushed at the noise and took the tray from Temari. She then walked into the room and put the tray on the small table near the window. Temari followed her inside and closed the door behind her.

"Sorry, that's all I could prepare this late at night." Temari said casually behind her as she walked to one of the window and stared up at the night sky.

"Don't say that. At this time, I couldn't ask for better meal, seriously…" Sakura said guiltily as she started to eat.

Temari smiled at her and continued, "I just checked on Gaara…". She paused, glancing at Sakura who also paused and looked back at her.

"He's okay, right?" Sakura asked, couldn't hide her worried tone.

Temari smirked at this, "Yup, he's okay. I wrapped the herb's liquid around his chest and back just as you told me." Temari paused and continued, "He woke up then, and…the first thing he said was…" Temari paused again as she lifted her eyes to meet Sakura's. Dark green met emerald as they stared at each other's eyes. Sakura could only stare back and wait. "…was?" She asked then, encouraging Temari to continue.

"Well…" Temari paused and looked down before looking up to meet Sakura's eyes again, "He asked me, 'where is Sakura?'" Temari said again, watching Sakura's reaction all the while. Sakura gave no reaction for a while as she stared blankly at Temari, she quickly came to her senses though as she looked away from Temari and continued with her meal.

"He probably forgot that I'm supposed to return to Konoha today." Sakura chuckled slightly as she continued to eat.

"Sakura, Gaara never _asked_ anyone 'where' a person is…" Temari paused and then muttered under her breath, "…unless you're a target in a mission."

Sakura stopped and stared at her food as she listened to Temari.

"Plus, he knew you're here. He could sense your presence, and yet…" Temari paused as she pushed aside her bangs that had been tickling her eyes.

"Sakura, Gaara wanted _you_ to treat him, he didn't say it…but I know." Temari turned to look at Sakura again, and smiled at her.

"Temari, I…I really can't stay in Suna for too long…if that's what you're trying to say. I'm sorry…" Sakura apologized as she finished her meal and turned to Temari.

Temari looked at her, considering Sakura's answer for a while. "Sou ka." She said slowly then, walking to where Sakura sat and stopped when she got closed to her. She bent down and whispered near her ear, "Then I'm sorry for bothering you with this conversation. Have a good night, Sakura."

Sakura sat there silently as she watched Temari took the tray and walked to the door. "Temari…" She called, contemplating what to say next. Temari stopped and turned around, "Hm?"

"I'm really sorry, I would stay longer if I could but I've promised my Shishou to take on the next mission with Naruto once I get back to Konoha." Sakura tried to explain.

Temari smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, Sakura. Besides, that's not what I was trying to say." Temari said as she walked out of the room. "Good night." She winked at Sakura and closed the door behind her, leaving Sakura wondering to herself. _What was she trying to say then?_

---

Sakura woke up early in the morning as she quickly prepared herself and packed her belongings. She would return to Konoha today, but Temari and Kankurou would come with her as well to check on the mysterious location she told them last night, and she thought, it would be better if she was ready before them.

She looked outside the window, it was cloudy which was a rare occasion in the desert and the morning air was still quite cold, if not dry. Once she was ready, she grabbed her backpack and opened the door. She closed the door silently behind her and walked along the hallway before someone stopped her in her track.

There, leaning against the wall next to the Kazekage's bedroom was Gaara. His black-rimmed eyes were closed, his head facing the floor, and he had his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was still wearing his black, long sleeves tunic. There was no gourd strapped on his back, and his spiky red hair was a little more disheveled that usual.

"Gaara-kun?" Sakura called, staring at him.

He opened his eyes and lifted them to meet Sakura's.

"Ohayo." He greeted her in monotone. His voice was deep and quite.

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello. As always, thanks for the reviews. They mean a lot to me :) _

_I realized that I'm not good with description, and particularly for this chapter, it downright sucks in my opinion. Add to that, my limited vocabulary really doesn't help me at all. But I try my best and am still try to improve. Anyway I hope y'all like this chapter as much as the previous ones. Enjoy. _

_PS. I don't own Naruto or Gaara or Sakura, only the plot for this fic._

_---_

_kallou : No, I didn't mean 'oh hey'. Ohayo is Japanese term for 'morning/good morning'. Hope this clears things up :) _

_PS: I'll use common Japanese phrases once in a while in this fic, so if the words don't mean anything in English, then it will just be me using Japanese terms. _

Chapter 3

Usually, Gaara wasn't the one who greeted people first. A little surprised, Sakura's eyes widened at the unexpected greeting, but she quickly composed herself as she greeted him back.

"Ohayo." Sakura replied with a smile as she bowed slightly with a tilt of her head, while her eyes studied his features. From the look of it, she could tell Gaara had just woken up. And he looked pretty normal today (as normal as his stoic and emotionless face could be), and his face was serene and peaceful, unlike several days ago where that very face was twisted in agony and horror. This brought yet another small smile on her lips.

They didn't speak to each other for a moment, with Gaara leaning against the wall and Sakura stood not five feet away from him. Silence ensued as both of them exchanged meaningful stares…

It had just been two days since Gaara and Sakura had their last conversation at the end of his healing session, where he was told not to indulge in any physical activity or to use chakra in any shape or form until his chakra flow returned to normal. He abode to it.

It had just been two days since Gaara first opened up to her, though not by much.

It had just been two days since she found out -and realized- how lonely he was, despite being a Kazekage and well-loved by his family and people.

It had just been two days since he…

Sakura blushed.

**I'm going to miss him.** Her inner self said gloomily.

_Yes…you're right… _Sakura agreed…though she was hesitating a little bit. But once she returned to Konoha, Gaara wouldn't be there anymore to distract her thought like what he had accomplished successfully these past few days, and she most likely wouldn't be seeing him again for a long time, so why not be honest to herself once in a while?

After all…it wasn't like he was _all that_ special for her either. He was _just_ a friend. And it was totally normal to miss a friend. So she shouldn't worry too much about this. Once the mission was over and done with, she wouldn't be seeing him again, and hopefully she didn't have to worry about questioning her own feeling anymore.

And then Gaara broke the eye contact.

He pushed himself up from the leaning position and took a step forward, his aquamarine eyes bored into hers as he stood calmly in front of her, watching…again.

This time, Sakura squirmed under his stare. **Well, Sakura, this is it. Say something…or we're both gonna stand here staring at each other for hours! **She heard her inner-self reminded her. _I know, I know! Now would you shut up and let me think?! _

But just when she was about to open her mouth to ask him how he felt this morning, Gaara's stare traveled down to her backpack that she carried with her right hand and stayed there for a moment, before lifting his eyes to meet hers again.

Noticing that, as if his eyes could talk, Sakura quickly understood his silent question, or maybe it wasn't a question and he was just observing, but at least it gave her something to say to him.

She lifted her backpack then, holding it in front of her chest with two hands, "Well, you must be wondering why I'm still here today when I was supposed to return to Konoha yesterday, am I right?" She asked cheerfully, while acting as casually as possible.

Gaara watched her and didn't reply for a few seconds which made Sakura lifted her eyebrows and tilting her head questioningly in an act of getting him to answer the question.

"Iie.", came the one-word reply as he turned away slowly, his back now facing her as he looked down the hallway to Temari and Kankurou's rooms, his arms still folded in front of his chest.

"I want to see it…". He turned around again, glancing at her. He was about to continue when he noticed Sakura's puzzled expression. He held his gaze on her face. Somehow, ever since Sakura's stay in Suna for the last few days, he had developed some strange feelings. For one, he _liked_ to watch her. For someone like Gaara, Sakura had the most expressions out of all the people he knew, but of all her expressions, he…_really_ liked that puzzled expression on her, with her beautiful emerald eyes looking at him, and _only _him, wondering, and…her lips half opened, it made him wanted to grab her and—

"…the boulder." He continued then, explaining himself to Sakura and halting his own thought. He creased his (nonexistent) eye brows. That feeling which surfaced exclusively only in Sakura's presence, was _very _new to him…and he hated it. He _really_ hated it... Where was the Sabaku no Gaara who was once so distant and unaffected? He missedhim…very, as this situation with the pink haired girl was making him very uncomfortable...on one side. But on the other side…

A little surprised with what he said, Sakura didn't reply momentarily. She blinked then and said, "You knew?"

"Temari told me everything." Gaara replied.

"Oh." Sakura said, all the while smacking herself inwardly for being dumb with her question. "Then…about last night…" Sakura stopped as she looked away from Gaara, successfully hiding the slight pink on her cheeks from him.

"Hm." He responded quietly with a nod, his gaze turned darker as he continued watching her.

"Gomen nasai!" Sakura all of a sudden bowed down towards him which surprised Gaara slightly, though his face didn't show it, as usual. He raised an inexistent eyebrow and tilted his head questioningly at Sakura.

Sakura blushed again, "I…I just thought I must have invaded your private space by doing that, although it was an accident…I felt like I needed to apologize…so—" She stumbled with her words, her eyes couldn't meet his as she kept her head down.

"…" All the while, Gaara was silent as he listened to her, before he decided to stop whatever she was blabbering about.

"…No need." He said huskily, almost a whisper.

Shivers ran down her spine as she felt Gaara had suddenly moved closer and his voice was incredibly close to her ear and she could definitely feel his warm breath tickling the side of her neck, so she looked up. It was a mistake.

She froze instantly. Her heart almost skipped a beat. Gaara's face was extremely close to hers and their cheeks almost touched. His shoulder was directly in front of her, and his lean and slightly bigger frame almost pressed against hers. Without his uniform on, she could see the milky white but muscled skin of his neck and a little bit of his left shoulder not covered by his shirt.

She didn't know how and why or whether it was her raging hormone's doing, but her heart began to race at the sight and the closeness of their bodies, not to mention, his unique scent. That scent…that was so…him…

_Oh no, this was just the same as before..!_ Sakura blushed deeply as her mind traveled back to two days ago, the day when she started to feel _something_ for him, something that she _shouldn't_ feel about a friend, especially a friend like Gaara. A bunch of ideas that justified her apparent denial rolled in her mind.

Because…because it was _Gaara_, he was her patient, he was Naruto's friend, he was the Kazekage, he wasn't from the same village, he was a former enemy of Team 7 and Konoha, he was an ex-psychopath, and…and…most of all, he wasn't SASUKE! _Yes, Gaara wasn't Sasuke! …Why do I even compare him with Sasuke-kun?!_ _Gaara-kun is just…well, Gaara-kun, he isn't that special! He isn't!!! _

At that moment, she couldn't think of anything other than, she needed to avoid Gaara…and quick, before she lost her mind and wondered about something…_very inappropriate _about the red head in front of her…

She gulped, and with an almost inaudible gasp, she moved backward, so fast that she stumbled in the process. She squeaked, waited for her butt to hit the floor but it never came.

She opened her eyes then, and slowly looked down to find that sand had wrapped around her waist and ankles, preventing her from falling. She then looked up to find Gaara –who didn't move a muscle– standing 2 feet in front of her, watching her clumsiness with a very noticeable scowl on his face. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy about the way Sakura avoided him. Deep down inside, he liked her presence, her closeness…but apparently Sakura didn't feel the same way…and the knowledge of that hurt, a lot.

Before Sakura had any chance to speak, Temari could be seen walking out of her room, still fastening her obi and head protector.

She finally lifted her head to see Gaara and Sakura, who was still standing awkwardly in the hallway, supported by the sand.

"Gaara? Sakura? What are you two doing so early?" She asked, otherwise her attention was still on her obi. Once her obi was tied properly, she approached them.

Her eyes immediately fell on Sakura's waist that was still encased with sand. Creasing her eyebrows, she looked at Gaara. "What happened? Did I miss something?" She asked.

"She fell." Gaara said quietly. The sand then dropped down from Sakura's waist, moving lazily back to Gaara's room where his gourd was located.

"Well…almost." Sakura said, finishing his sentence with a guilty smile plastered on her face.

"Oh." Temari said no more as she raised her eyebrow, glancing between Gaara and Sakura.

"By the way…" Temari started again. Her words seemed to get a reaction from Sakura as she snapped her head to look at Temari, as if she just remembered about something important. Temari cast a knowing glance to her. Both of them now turned to look at Gaara.

"Gaara-kun, did you just use chakra? ...didn't I say, no matter how small it is, you're not allowed to use chakra until—" Sakura said, her tone worried.

"I'm fine." Gaara cut her off mid-sentence.

"Gaara, listen to her, your condition wasn't something to be taken lightly. It's for your own good." Temari interrupted this time.

Gaara lifted his gaze to meet his sister. "I didn't use chakra." He said calmly.

This time both Temari and Sakura spoke at the same time, "What?"

"How?" Sakura asked again, puzzled. She knew that Gaara lost his automatic sand shield after Shukaku extraction, so she thought it would at least require a little bit of chakra for him to move the sand, but…

Gaara didn't answer, instead he glanced towards the direction of his room and in an instant, the sand gourd inside the room disintegrated. Rustling sound could be heard as it quickly flew towards its owner and solidified itself on Gaara's back. His hands found the straps as he calmly aligned and fastened it around his left shoulder.

Sakura and Temari could only watched with creasing eyebrows before Temari came to her senses. "Gaara…is your Shukaku ability back?" She asked him, her face concerned.

"…" Gaara didn't answer for a moment, his eyes fixed on the floor until, "Iie…it's different." He said thoughtfully under his breath.

"Gaara-kun, I'll do a check-up on you again. I think something is happening to your body and we need to know—" Sakura said as she stepped closer to inspect him.

"I'm fine." Gaara said, again, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"But…"

"I'm _fine_." He repeated, this time his voice dangerously low as he stressed the word 'fine', leaving no room for argument.

Sakura stopped and looked at him. Gaara could be very stubborn, didn't he know how worried she was? Yes…he didn't know…and of course she would make sure it remains that way...but…

She averted her eyes from him then, biting her lower lips, her face somewhat hurt.

"Whatever, Gaara." Temari saw this as she took a deep breath before she continued, "Anyway, me and Kankurou are going with Sakura this morning to check on that 'boulder' thing. Don't worry about going to the office, I've informed the Elders. You should get some rest until then." Temari said, explaining their plan for the day.

Gaara looked at her, his emotionless face now showed a hint of interest.

"Temari." He said as he moved calmly towards his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder. "_I_'m going with Sakura." He said with a firm voice as he put a little pressure on Temari's shoulder with his hand in an attempt to get his meaning across. He quietly walked off then without waiting for her reply.

"…matte, Gaara." Temari stopped him, staring at his back. "What do you mean you're going?" She asked. All the while, Sakura watched, didn't quiet comprehend what his intention really was.

Gaara glanced at her from over his shoulder, "I'll go with her…" He paused and glanced at Sakura and then back to Temari.

"…just the two of us." He said again and walked off without another word.

To be continued.


End file.
